Grow Your Own

by Angus Stewart

  The 28-spotted ladybird is a serious pest of cucurbits, but most ladybirds are beneficial, feeding on insect pests.

  CHEMICAL CONTROL

  Organic farming is growing in popularity, because using toxic chemicals to control pests and diseases can have all sorts of risks, both obvious and unforeseen. Careless or negligent use of chemicals can result in acute toxicity, which can cause poisoning as well as allergic reactions. With some chemicals, long-term problems – such as carcinogenic side effects – often do not show up for decades. In addition to the risks to human health, toxic chemicals can also cause collateral damage on the urban farm by killing beneficial insects that happen to get in the way when chemicals are being applied.

  However, if you are practising urban farming with a view to making a living from selling produce, then the time may come when you have to make the difficult choice to turn to chemical pest or disease control to protect your investment. It is absolutely vital that you strictly observe occupational health and safety precautions when handling and applying chemicals, particularly in urban areas where the surrounding population is also profoundly affected by the way you conduct your operation.

  Biological methods of control include introducing beneficial organisms – such as bacteria, fungi and predatory insects and arachnids – into the crop environment to bring and keep pest populations and diseases into balance. Examples include the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which infects and kills the caterpillars of various moths and butterflies; beneficial fungi, which live in mycorrhizal associations with certain plant roots and help to prevent root-rotting fungi from invading plant root systems; and predatory mites, which are used to control the devastating pest known as red spider mite.

  Cabbage white butterflies have green caterpillars. Despite their name, these butterflies will be attracted to any brassicas.

  FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED

  Many pests are ubiquitous, and particular ones are almost certain to affect specific crops. For instance, two-spotted mites almost inevitably attack beans, while cabbages often succumb to – you guessed it – cabbage white butterflies. If you know that an attack by a certain pest is likely to happen, then you can plan your counterattack accordingly. Sticky traps (cardboard impregnated with adhesive goo) are a fantastic and inexpensive way to see what pests are sniffing around and therefore what sort of preventative measures you need to take to be ready for them.

  Adhesive traps are a natural way to reduce the number of winged pests found on your urban farm, such as fruit flies.

  If they are left unchecked, aphids can build up to large numbers and cause major damage to fragile growing shoots.

  You can identify a wide variety of pests and diseases on various free websites, such as www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/pests_diseases_weeds.htm. Common pests that will almost certainly find their way onto your urban farm include:

  aphids, which are small sap-sucking pests that attack the new shoots of a wide range of garden plants, usually in spring. Mites and thrips are microscopic pests that also suck sap. As well as the physical damage these three pests do by robbing the plant of nutrients, they can also spread viruses if they move from an infected plant to a healthy one.

  bronze orange (stink) bugs, which are very damaging to all citrus plants.

  fruit flies, which lay eggs that hatch into small grubs (larvae). These grubs eat the interior flesh of many fruits, such as tomatoes and stone and citrus fruits.

  caterpillars, which are the voracious larvae of many butterflies and moths, such as the cabbage white butterfly.

  African black beetles, which are shiny beetles that lay eggs in the soil. Destructive curl grubs (which look like witchetty grubs) emerge from the eggs, and can devastate the root systems of a wide range of edible plants, particularly fruit and nut trees, but also vegetables.

  scale insects, which attack a wide range of edible plants, particularly citrus trees. They look like little scabs on the leaves and shoots, and can be rubbed off between the finger and thumb.

  SOURCING GOOD BUGS

  Bugs for Bugs sells a variety of different products that can be used on the urban farm, from biocontrol agents to fruit fly traps.

  There are many Australian companies that can supply a range of beneficial insects to control two-spotted mites, mealy bugs, citrus gall wasps, scale insects and other pests. Visit www.goodbugs.org.au to find a list of these suppliers. The Queensland company Bugs for Bugs (www.bugsforbugs.com.au) is a great example of the sort of resource available to urban farmers – the company not only supplies the helpful organisms, but also tells you how to successfully utilise them. While purchasing beneficial insects is not necessarily a cheap option, it is feasible for large urban farms and community gardens where the expense of losing enormous numbers of crops outweighs the cost of the insects. Alternatively, you may simply be prepared to pay a premium for the principle of having truly organic produce from your urban farm.

  Voracious leaf-eating caterpillars of various species of butterfly cause incredible damage to a wide range of vegetables.

  Mites are usually seen on the underside of leaves. Check carefully, as they can be quite small.

  If you see snails on your crops, they are best controlled by picking them off by hand.

  Equally important is identifying the beneficial insects that play an enormous role in creating a balance in your garden. If they are present, they will often breed up rapidly and control pest species. There are also specific predator insects available for certain pests. Fighting pests with their natural enemies means that you can avoid the use of toxic chemicals on the urban farm, safeguarding not only yourself but also your children and pets from the risk of inadvertent contact with chemicals. Some of the key insects to look out for are:

  lacewings, which eat aphids and thrips

  dragonflies, which will devour various small flying insects

  praying mantis insects, which feed on a wide variety of pest species.

  PREVENTATIVE MEASURES

  There are many simple things you can do in your garden to minimise the risk of damage from pests and diseases. For instance, you can exclude a pest by placing a protective barrier around your plants. A ring of coffee grounds or sawdust around your vegetable seedlings deters snails and slugs, as they dislike sliding over the jagged particles. Placing some chicken wire over the top of newly planted seedlings will protect them from a variety of large leaf-eating pests, such as rabbits.

  A physical barrier such as netting may be required if your plants are constantly being nibbled by rabbits.

  In other cases, certain plants can be used as decoys to protect other species around them. For instance, I had an issue with a rather ravenous swamp wallaby in my vegetable garden. I loved watching this marvellous marsupial munching away, but I didn’t enjoy the damage he did to my plants. Having worked out that his favourite food is the lush foliage of the sweet potato, I planted swathes of this easily propagated root vegetable. Since the crop is underground, I can afford to lose some of the foliage and still get a good crop – plus it keeps the wallaby away from my other vegetables!

  TAKE ACTION

  Cabbage white butterfly caterpillars can quickly decimate a cabbage crop, but they can be easily controlled by the regular use of a bacterial pathogen, Bacillus thuringiensis, which is readily obtainable as a product called Dipel. This bacterium is totally non-toxic to all but the caterpillars of a wide range of moths and butterflies. As the caterpillar must ingest the bacterium, it is important to spray the Dipel over as much of the foliage as possible. Also, be prepared for the fact that it takes a few days to kill the caterpillars – do not expect an instant ‘knockdown’.

  Another problem area in the garden is the damage caused by various fungi, such as those that cause leaf spot in lettuce and brassicas, or powdery mildew in peas and pumpkins. These fungi spread by microscopic spores that land on the leaves, fruits and flowers, and they start as small spots that gradually radiate out until they cause extensive death of
plant tissue. There are a couple of environmentally friendly mixtures that can be sprayed on plants to minimise the damage caused by such fungi. Mix 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda (also known as baking soda) with 2 litres of water, or one part fresh full-cream milk with five parts water.

  Half the fun of growing food is getting out among your plants every day and watching them grow and develop. If you nurture this habit and really look hard at the web of life in your urban farm, you will be a long way down the track to preventing pests and diseases from building up and causing major damage.

  These cabbages have not been damaged by hail – hungry caterpillars of cabbage white butterflies are the culprits.

  Mite damage caused underneath the leaf shows through as light spots on the upper surface.

  Peach leaf curl is caused by a fungus. It can be controlled but seldom eliminated.

  Companion Planting

  We have never seen any convincing evidence that companion planting works as a way of controlling pests and diseases. Garlic, for instance, reportedly repels pests from nearby plants, but it also attracts its own insect pests, such as aphids and thrips. In our experience, following evidence-based approaches to the management of pests and diseases is a far better policy. This is not to say that we should dismiss companion planting for other reasons. Interplanting nitrogen-fixing legumes such as beans with hungry plants such as corn or potatoes is always useful.

  INTEGRATED URBAN FARMING

  Chooks are easy to keep, and they regularly provide food (in the form of eggs), even in very small urban spaces.

  With a little knowledge and experience, you can obtain quality honey from bees housed on your urban farm.

  Prior to the mid-twentieth century, animals were traditionally part of urban farms. Milking cows, pigs, goats, sheep, ducks and geese were all likely to be found on small acreages outside of towns and cities. Higher population densities in the modern era make it impractical to keep larger animals on most urban farms; however, there are two smaller creatures that are ideal for anyone who wants to extend their urban farm beyond simple crop production: bees and chickens.

  Beekeeping is a particularly useful activity, as not only is it a potential source of honey, but it is also an excellent insurance policy to ensure that your crops are well supplied with pollinators. Although common honey bees are most popular, there has been a recent surge of interest in Australian native stingless bees. They do not produce anything like the yield of honey that their exotic cousins do, but they are very good pollinators that come without the risk of bee stings. The second activity that is highly compatible with many urban farms is keeping chooks. They turn kitchen scraps into valuable edible protein and useful manure, and they can also keep pests and weeds under control if they are carefully managed.

  BEES

  Written by Elke Haege, President of the Sydney Bee Club and breeder of native stingless bees in Sydney (www.elkeh.com.au)

  Keeping honey bees is a very rewarding experience, but it is a lot more involved than keeping Australian native stingless bees, and the decision to get into honey bees should not be taken lightly. You may want to start by visiting a beekeeping club in your local area to see if keeping honey bees might be for you.

  To be a beekeeper in Australia, you must register with the relevant state government department – even if you have as little as one hive (and even if you are a hobbyist).

  In New South Wales, it is the Department of Primary Industries.

  In Queensland, it is the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

  In Victoria, it is Agriculture Victoria.

  In other states, check with your state agricultural department or equivalent as to administrative requirements.

  You must follow specific legal requirements and a Code of Practice if you own and manage bees. Regulation helps reduce the spread of pests and diseases that have the potential to quickly spread from colony to colony. It also controls and promotes responsible management with regard to both the public and any neighbouring lands and land uses.

  A learning curve

  Before actually getting bees, however, it is recommended that you do a hands-on course in beekeeping. These courses should be able to point you in the right direction with regard to equipment and bees, and advise you on the costs involved. Purchase a practical guidebook such as Bee Agskills, which is a good reference for beekeeping tasks such as performing brood inspections, identifying and managing diseases as well as recognising various behaviours and traits of honey bees.

  Beekeeping clubs are very useful for not only new beekeepers but also experienced beekeepers to discuss local conditions and experiences. You can ask for, share and compare advice, as there is much more to beekeeping than just honey (in fact, honey is a very, very small part of beekeeping). Some beekeeping clubs – such as the New South Wales clubs, under the Amateur Beekeepers Association – also offer affordable beekeeping third-party liability insurance. Being part of one of these associations will keep you abreast of beekeeping news (such as outbreaks of pests and diseases that may need careful attention when doing your brood inspections); help you share and gain information on requeening, swarm collection and control, and local bee behaviour at various times of the year; and provide tips on hive assembly and many other components involved in the gentle practice of managing honey bees. Clubs are also a good place to learn about and discuss with other beekeepers the issues bees are facing across Australia and around the world.

  One of the most riveting parts of beekeeping is watching individual bees hard at work gathering pollen and nectar from various flowers.

  BEEKEEPING COURSES

  Your local beekeeping club or association will be able to guide you towards a reputable and practical beekeeping course (and some clubs even conduct their own courses). The following websites also detail useful courses:

  www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/content/agriculture/profarm/courses/beekeeping

  www.training.gov.au/Training/Details/AHC32010

  www.theurbanbeehive.com.au/courses-2/

  When you become a beekeeper, you are likely to also become more acutely aware of the natural landscape around you (such as what plants are flowering in your area, and when the wet and dry seasons are) – as this significantly affects bees. As you perform regular brood inspections in your hive, you’ll also start to become aware of the bees’ cycles, smells, sound changes and collective behaviour traits, which I find the most rewarding part of beekeeping.

  More than just honey bees!

  Australia has more than 1800 different species of native bees. Most of these are solitary, but there are a few species that are social like honey bees (which were introduced to Australia in 1822). There is untapped potential in our Australian native bees.

  One social species, which is naturally distributed in coastal Queensland and New South Wales (including Sydney), is particularly worth looking into if you are interested in bees. The native stingless bee (Tetragonula carbonaria) is a small (3-millimetre long) mostly black bee that is an efficient pollinator. Dr Anne Dollin’s website (www.aussiebee.com.au) is a great resource on this and many other native bees. If you want to keep bees but you only have a balcony or small garden, or you don’t have the time needed for honey bees, then this is the place to start looking. You will soon learn how to manage a colony of native stingless bees or create a habitat for solitary bees.

  The wooden beehive is a common sight in honey-producing areas, and is often painted white to reflect heat.

  Native bees don’t sting, and they are easy to keep. They make delicious, tangy honey in small quantities.

  CHICKENS

  The red junglefowl (Gallus gallus), along with the dog, is among the earliest creatures that were domesticated by humans. About 7500 years ago, very soon after humans first settled in hamlets and villages in Southeast Asia, the red junglefowl – an omnivorous offshoot of the theropod (a three-toed dinosaur, nowadays called a bird) – learned that there were always rich pickings around human habitations.
An inquisitive bird with a social disposition, it quickly became a favourite food source of humans, as it had the unusual habit of laying eggs constantly throughout its breeding season, unlike most birds that have a pronounced laying ‘window’ (which is usually only a few weeks in spring).

  At first it was, without a doubt, pleasantly surprising to find a freshly laid egg in the morning, just in time for breakfast, and their habit of one rooster dominating and driving off the spare ones meant cockerel for dinner. The other unusual and highly desirable habit was that the hens laid perfectly good but sterile eggs in the absence of a rooster. Today there are varieties that still have the ancient habit of laying their eggs only in the warmer months, but most have been bred for constant year-round laying with hardly a pause at all. Bred in England, the Orpington was one of the first to lay throughout most of the cold English winter, which was quite a breakthrough. Some, like the ISA Brown, have had this seasonal tendency completely bred out of them, and they lay all year round, in any climate, if they have access to good food, water and comfortable surroundings.

  Picking your chickens

  Chickens are among the easiest and cheapest animals to keep, even in the smallest of areas. Their ability to eat almost anything – including garden and kitchen scraps, insect pests and even snails – while producing eggs and valuable fertiliser explains their enduring popularity with urban farmers.

  Chickens are kept for many reasons these days; some are just for show, and the curiosity of breeding them. For our purposes, however, the chief interest is obtaining eggs. When we were kids, the sound of roosters crowing could be heard all over the suburbs. Sadly, this is no longer the case. It is more difficult to breed chickens in urban environments these days, as neighbours are often intolerant of the noise that roosters make. Today, many local councils have ordinances preventing the keeping of roosters, but if you are lucky enough to live in the right area, breeding chickens is very rewarding and especially fun for kids. There is nothing cuter than a busy hen roaming around with a cloud of fuzzy chicks ducking under her at the slightest hint of danger.